welcome, everyone, you're in the "cnn newsroom," i'm poppy harlow joining you live from new york. we begin with breaking news, two american citizens both sentenced to years of hard labor in north korea are now free and they are on their way home. matthew todd miller seven months detained, kenneth bae two years

detained. they were released today and are right now flying back to the united states and now that these two men are out that leaves no more americans detained in north korea. our elise labbit is following it closely from washington and she has the details about the diplomacy and an important thing that james clapper brought along with him, right, elise? >> that's right, poppy. the u.s. and north korea have been talking several months about the release of american detainees a couple weeks ago they released jeffrey fowl and a plane was summoned to bring him home and now the north koreans asked for a cabinet-level official to come bring kenneth bae and matthew todd miller home. the president chose the director of national intelligence james clapper and senior administration officials tell me that mr. clapper did bring a letter from president obama to north korean leader kim jong un to let him know he was president

obama's personal envoy, certainly a message from president obama to the north korean leader, poppy. >> wow. when you talk about this in a historical context, elise, have we seen this before? have we seen other presidents sending letters to the north korean regime? >> well, you know, this is not the first time that the u.s. and north korea have done business together. you remember that president clinton sent his secretary of state, madeleine albright to north korea. so, certainly there have been communications from the presidents to north korea. i think a letter of this nature, i mean, you wouldn't make that much out of it because it's not a letter calling for better relations certainly. calling for an opening. but certainly it's something that the north korean leader cheeri clearly wanted something from president obama saying -- making some kind of gesture. also, you know, poppy, i think we have to be careful not to overestimate what's going to

happen now between the u.s. and north korea. officials telling me very happy that these americans are home but there's a lot of concern about north korea's nuclear program, about their human rights record and these are the things north korea needs to resolve before they can really have a better relationship with the u.s., poppy. >> absolutely. a lot of outstanding issues but the really good headline that these two men have been freed and they're on their way home. thank you, elise, appreciate it. i want to go to tokyo to will ripley. you interviewed these men two months ago in pyongyang. and i can't imagine what you must be feeling now that they have been released. tell me a little bit about what they told you and also about why you think north korea has all of a sudden released the remaining two. >> reporter: well, this whole experience from start to finish has been really surreal, poppy, as you and i were e-mailing back and forth earlier, because we went to north korea. we asked to speak with these americans. we were told that that would be impossible and then on our last

day of filming with almost no notice we were put into a room with each of these men separately in a part of pyongyang that we'd never seen before, that foreigners weren't allowed in. we had strict conditions, but as i listened to each of these men talk, they had is similar talking points, that they were being treated humanely, they were desperate to see their families and most importantly they wanted the help of the united states government. we were being watched as we were doing the interviews. north korea was recording us. they were watching us. they coached us ahead of time. we don't know if they coached these men ahead of time and told them to say these things to us but that's certainly something i would be interested in finding out, because they each said very, very similar things in the limited amount of time that we had. >> i'm serving 15-year sentence right now and i've been -- i've been going back and forth from hospital to the labor camp the last year and a half. i'm working eight hours a day, six days weeks.

and working ining agricultural o other hard labor that i am required to do every day. >> reporter: and, poppy, that was kenneth bae obviously describing the conditions. he went on to talk also about his health problems. his health was deteriorating. he had lost a lot of weight. his hair had fallen out and he was having trouble sleeping and a whole list of other issues. if his health was continuing to deteriorate he could have been become more of a liability for north korea had he fallen more seriously ill, poppy, so certainly in addition to being reunited with his family he needs to get checked out by doctors and hopefully they can get him better. >> we are awaiting the plane bringing the two earn americans. we want to show you kenneth bae's time in north korea in custody. he is 44 years old. in 2013 north korea's supreme

court sentve sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor for what pyongyang called hostile acts against the country. in january of this year released a statement admitting to, quote, a serious crime against north korea. in the context that north korea has a long history of forcing false confessions. bae has struggled with health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure during his time in custody as will just explained. after the years of worry, fear, doubt, not knowing what is going to happen kenneth bae's family is finally getting ready for a joyful reunion. they sent a statement, it says, it is finally happening, kenneth bae is home. the day we've been praying for has finally arrived. early this morning family heard news from the u.s. state department that my brother was on a plane from the dprk, north korea, with fellow detainee matthew todd miller. they had left north korean airspace bound for america. words cannot adequately express

our relief and gratitude that kenneth is finally coming home. we've been waiting for and praying for this day for two years. this ordeal has been excruciating for the family but we are filled with joy right now. i am thrilled to imagine hugging my brother soon. he will not have to spend another day at the haber camp. he can now recover from this imprisonment and look forward to his wife, kids and the rest of our life. our thanksgiving celebration this year will be one that we will never forget. we sincerely thank the united states government for all the hard work and dedication to securing my brother's release as well as the release of matthew todd miller. we are also grateful to the dprk government for allowing them to come home. we must also thank the swedish embassy in pyongyang for their tireless effort to advocate for kenneth during his prolonged imprisonment. we are grateful to everyone who has supported by brothers cause including reporters and editors who cared enough to see this through. we are thankful for people in

seattle and across the world who have continued to advocate and pray for kenneth. we believe that god is with people who endure hardship and that he never leaves them. it is with great joy and with thankfulness to god to see kenneth released. our family could not have been sustained without the knowledge that kenneth was in god's care when it seemed we were helpless to do anything. on behalf of the family we ask for some space from reporters and the public as he tries to adjust to his life back home. that is the full statement that we have received from the bae family. they are overjoyed that kenneth bae is returning home. as for matthew todd miller, here's what we know about his time in north korea. 24 years old. he traveled to north korea as a tourist as a u.s.-based travel company. he was arrested on april 10th of this year. north korea state-run media claimed he ripped up his tourist visa and shouted his desire to seek asylum there. and he was charged to six years

hard labor for acts hostile to north korea. we've not heard from his family. bae and miller were not the only ones being held hostage overseas at least 12 u.s. citizens are either being held captive by extremist groups or sitting in jails in countries hostile to american. among them robert levinson, his captors sent pictures to his family. also 72-year-old warren weinstein he was working as a government contractor in pakistan during the summer of 2011 when he was grabbed from his home. he's been held hostage by al qaeda ever since. also allen gross a u.s. government contractor in jail in cuba. several u.s. officials including former president jimmy carter have personally pleaded for his release, so far, though, no success. i want to bring in congressman adam schiff a member of the house intelligence committee. talk for being here. we appreciate it. >> you bet. >> i want to get straight to the great news for these families and the two men coming home. can you tell us if you've been briefed at all by the administration, the state

department, any details that you're getting other than what we have at this point? >> i imagine we're going to be briefed later this week. in fact, i think the congressional leadership itself wasn't notified itself until director clapper was on his way to the region. that's not surprising. these deals often come together very last minute and i'm not even sure deal is the right word. but plainly north korea wanted a high-level emissary from the united states and they usually do. it obviously isn't going to mean much to the rest of the world that we have to send someone and i'm not sure what domestic political impact it has and whether they really care. but nonetheless, it is great news these two americans are coming home. i wouldn't read all that much into it, poppy, because the key word with kim jong-un is erratic. at times we see a high-level north korean delegation go to south korea and we think, okay, they're opening up the way for a dialogue. and then shortly thereafter we

see new hostilities along the demilitarized zone and we have the release of the three americans in addition to the release earlier but i wouldn't be surprised to see rocket tests coming up or further work on miniature rising their nuclear weapons to sit on long-term rockets. it's a very opaque leadership and hard to read too much into it at the moment. >> but what do you make of the timing of this? the fact that it comes a few weeks after jeffrey fowl was let go? the fact that we know the president, president obama, sent a handwritten letter with james clapper to give to, you know, pyongyang's leader. what do you make of those developments that we're learning and the timing? should we read anything into the timing? >> well, the only thing i would probably read into the timing is i think that north korea really is reacting to this united nations report, potential referral of kim jong-un to the international criminal court. i think that really rocked them. they've reacted to that development in other ways and i

wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to what they would consider make this diplomatic offensive to head off a referral to the criminal court. it also may be a prelude to their wanting to have discussions with the united states. we should know in the relatively near future whether that's the case. the final thing i would mention is i think they've had an increasingly strained relationship with their benefactor and that is china, so this may be as much a message to china as it is to the united states that they want to emerge somewhat from the incredible isolation they're in. >> that's an important point to make. i appreciate you coming on, congressman. thank you very much for sharing some time with us this saturday. coming up next in the "newsroom," young lee is an american journalist who was held captive in north korea. hear her thoughts on the release of bae and miller. she really knows what it's like to go through this. that's next. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7 it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things.

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well, americans can celebrate the release today of kenneth bae and matthew miller it is worth remembering that north korea has had a long and troubled history of taking foreigners prisoner, euna lee, she and fellow journalist laura ling were taken hostage in 2009. they were held for 140 days before president bill clinton got them freed. she chronicled her ordeal in her book "the world is bigger now." euna lee joins us by phone. thank you for being here, euna. i am wondering what your thoughts were when you woke up to this news. >> i couldn't believe it. i got this news and my reaction was, what? i couldn't believe it. i was just -- i can't just

express how happy i am for the men and their families. >> you say you got the news from kenneth bae's sister terry who has been fighting nonstop for his release. what else did she say to you about how he's doing? i know that his health was deteriorating. >> i just know that kenneth bae's family and i were in contact while he was gone for two years. i think the family wanted to just share their joy with me before they released a statement. but in some way i just couldn't be freed from my time in north korea while he was gone and now i feel like i can finally feel that joy with them. >> wow. >> and be free from the time. >> yeah. absolutely. i know jeffrey fowl was saying, you know, he had a very hard time leaving a few weeks ago feeling like his fellow detainees were still there.

you experienced this. you went through the, quote-unquote, justice system in north korea through their supreme court. i wonder if you can tell us what that situation was like so we can get an eye in to what it was like for kenneth bae and matthew miller? >> there were basically two stages during my detention. before the trial and after the trial. so, the first stage was a long interrogation hours were held for a month. and the trier. and then after the trier it was another long, waiting time. of course, you know, we are dealing with countries so different than u.s. so there are things that -- basically we couldn't adjust to it. i had agree with what they were saying. yeah. >> what do you think the hardest part is about coming home?

>> the hardest part of coming home? just, you know, it's funny. you know, soon after i came home i really tried to get back to our normal life, but it actually took longer than two -- the recovery time took longer than the time that i was in. so i'm very concerned that kenneth bae need to take a lot of time to focus on himself to recover from the detention and isolation. >> yeah. shule. absolutely. your perspective is very much appreciated and we are so glad that these men on their way home. that you guys were freed and that there is now as we know it no american detained in north korea. euna lee, thank you. >> thank you very much. well, president obama had one main message to americans as this country continues its fight against isis -- >> the notion that the united states should be putting boots on the ground i think would be a

profound mistake. these american forces will not have a combat mission. we will not get dragged into ground war in iraq. the american forces that have been deployed to iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. i won't commit our troops to fighting another ground war in iraq or in syria. >> well, now the number of u.s. military advisers in iraq is doubling. does that amount to boots on the ground? is it all just semantics? let's discuss next. ive them the basics, you know. i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there.

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we're tracking a story this hour involving coalition air strikes that targeted a suspected group of isis heeders in iraq. the leader of isis is a man named abu al baghadi. a spokesman for u.s. central command that said while the air strikes destroyed a convoy believed to be carrying some isis leaders centcom cannot confirm if al baghadi was present in that convoy at that time. let's bring back in california democratic congressman adam schiff. he is the senior member of the house intelligence committee. thanks for being with us. appreciate it. let's talk about this. we just got this statement within the last few hours from centcom saying we were targeting the isis leaders. we cannot say if al baghadi was among them. can you say anything beyond that at this point in time? because that would be huge. >> at this point i don't. i know the strike that went

after the french bombmaker the strike after the convoy does indicate our intelligence is getting better in terms of where the leadership may be. in iraq it may be a different story because you had a large convoy of vehicles and we are very much on the lookout for large military formations we can go at where there isn't going to be a lot of collateral damage or any collateral damage, so it could have been just a strike of opportunity against this massing of forces or it may be that our intelligence has improved to the degree where we knew some of the leadership may be in that convoy. >> so the air strikes, a lot of analysts have said to me this week the fact that we got this bombmaker shows us the intelligence is getting better and the air strikes are working more. clear i had it's not enough because this week the obama administration announced 1,500 additional u.s. troops going to iraq to advise the iraqi military there. do you agree with that move? >> i do agree with the move. i think that we can use that level of troops to better train and equip the iraqi forces. we can scale them up more

quickly this way. we can make more progress on the battlefield more quickly. in terms of whether it's enough, you know, a lot of what we're talking about is how long is this going to take. >> yeah. >> certainly the air campaign by itself is not going to be enough and certainly it's going to take quite some time to get the iraqi forces to be able to retake maces like mosul. and i think this will help accelerate that timetable but we still have a very long, hard road ahead of us. >> one go that i thought was interesting brought up by a journalist at the pentagon briefing yesterday where rear admiral john kirby addressed this is how do we know it's going to be different this time when we spent so much time, so many resources, so many lives training the iraqi army to see many of them, you know, really drop their arms and run away in the face of isis, how is it going to be different this time? and the pentagon saying it will be different, you know, iraq is ready for this we've seen the signs that this is the right thing to do. at what point does this amount

to actually having boots on the ground? the president makes a difference between these aren't combat troops, but at what point is there really a difference? >> i mean, these are two really good questions. the first is whether this will make a difference or not, whether this will be different than the last time will depend if iraq makes the political changes that it needs to help bring the sunnis on to the side of a national government that will help reinforce those iraqi troops with professional leadership, not just people loyal to the regime and not just shia leadership, so that will determine whether this can be sustained. >> right. >> whether we can recapture this ground. and i think at this point it's too early to tell. they are doing some of the right things but whether the shia leadership will go far enough to get the sunnis back as a part of the organic whole of iraq is still very much an open question. getting to your second point about boots on the ground, these are obviously quite literally

boots on the ground but the question is will they be engaged in a combat mission. will they be directly confronting in combat isis as part of their mission not just if they're attacked and need to defend themselves. and the president is quite adamant this is not why they are being sent. they are be sent to train and advise, and yes, they will be at risk. you can't be in the theater of war and thought be at risk. and i think it's very smart of the president to limit their role in that way. >> adam schiff, appreciate you joining us, congressman. thank you very much. >> thanks, poppy. as we just mentioned, more troops headed to iraq, and you're going to hear from a marine who's been there next. [ high-pitched ] nailed it! [ normal voice ] you're right, that was really easy. i know, i told you so. on progressive.com, you can compare our progressive direct rates with our competitors' rates, so shopping is easy. you don't sound like flo. [high-pitched] yeah, i do. [ clears throat ] who you talking to? [ normal voice ] what?

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air strikes have yet to have a major impact. this was the scene in november of 2004 as coalition forces worked their way through the dangerous streets, but a decade later isis militants now control the city along with a large swath of northern iraq and syria. more air strikes this week hit isis targs near fallujah and ramadi. i want to bring in someone with a very unique perspective, a former u.s. marine agent who fought in the battle in 2004. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> thank you for your service. all of you and your fellow servicemen and women. >> thank you. >> the president said 1,500 advisers and logistic coordinators not technical boots on the ground. is it the right move? >> i disagree that it is the right move. i absolutely think it is not. part of my problem has to do with the congressman from california said they are boots on the ground but where do we differentiate their mission there? advisers, when does it become boots on the ground? >> mission creep.

>> when does it occur? the first time they are ambushed. the first time an american was killed. we already had one marine killed since this new mission took. >> are you saying don't send them over or just call it -- >> call it what it is. i think we're dealing with semantics here, we're just trying to play a funny game with words. i think either send them and send them in full force. what is 1,500 do that the first 1,400 didn't do? >> what would you like to see? would you like to see 10,000 combat troops sent? >> i would like to see 50,000 or none. >> what do you think? >> i'm not privy to the intelligence they have. i don't know the exact answer. i think we're playing the middle ground. we're nickel and diming. >> i would assume you lost friends and colleagues feeting. do you worry that it is risking lives not to -- to go in as you say sort of halfway? >> i think it does. i think that's part of the problem. during the entire iraq war. we slowly crept up the number of troops we had until we had a surge.

and i think if we would have went in with the full might of the u.s. military we would have overwhelming victory. we would have a marine, soldier, sailor and airman on every corner of iraq and the insurgency wouldn't have gained a foothold. >> 2011 some argue we should never have left like we did and how long are you going to stay. that becomes the question. for how long? >> and it's an important question and a tricky question. however, my response to that is the reason for the president's leaving. he campaigned on a promise to end the war in iraq. he didn't campaign on a promise to gain military victory, to accomplish the mission. he said we will leave regardless. and i would have liked to have seen a concrete goal. that goal accomplished. and then we leave. with a better plan intact. >> it was asked by a journalist at the pentagon yesterday what's different this time? we spent all of this money, resources, lives,training iraqis forces and we haven't

seen a new government in iraq that they'll be inclulesive of sunnis and they say they will. do you believe enough is different this time? >> i don't. no evidence showing us that it will be. i will say this. i saw a great number of absolutely outstanding iraqi forces that i worked side by side with that spilled their blood and died for their country the same way soldiers, sailors and marines did for theirs. however, there was a large number that did flee. that threw down their arms that said we quit. that didn't want to fight and there's nothing to prove to the contrary that anything different is going to happen. so, i don't know. i don't have confidence in them to do it on their own right now. >> since we have you here i do want to ask you if you feel comfortable talking about it. s.e.a.l. robert o'neill saying to "the washington post" i am the one who shot and killed osama bin laden. there's been a lot of debate over whether or not he broke the code of silence. whether he should have done this. the journalist who did the report said, look, he was trying to take control of the narrative because it was leaking out

online. what is your reaction to that? >> not being a s.e.a.l., the ones i did work with and have experience with, their ethos is that of a silent mission accomplishment without seeking personal recognition. some would say that he broke that code. some would say that he was trying to take charge of the narrative as you suggested. my biggest concern is now we all know who he is here in america but also abroad. so, his friends and his enemies now know who he is and he's painted a target on his back. >> adam, we have to go, but just thank you very much for your service and, you know, we're all looking at these veterans coming home and saying what can we all do to help them because they've all helped us, so thank you. >> thank you very much for having me. >> good to be with you. two americans one detained and once detained in north korea, they are both free. they are heading home. their release seemed to catch everyone off-guard. the question is why did it happen today? [ female announcer ] we help make secure financial tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people.

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today's release by north korea of its last two american captives was just the latest in a series of very surprise movements by pyongyang. for example, there have been unexpected reunions with fami families in south korea and leader kim jong-un disappearedr

question what's going on there. thank you very much for being here. >> well, thank you so much, poppy. >> i love your perspective on this all. there has been chatter that this is possibly a reaction to north korea having souring relations with china. do you believe that was a driver in this? >> i think that's a hong-term driver, you know, for about a year there's been a rupture in relations between beijing and pyongyang and so the north koreans have now had to go out to the rest of the world to find a new sponsor. so, they reached out to moscow. tokyo, seoul and now us. and i think that's an important sort of driver of what they've been doing over the last year. and there are a couple of other things that may have influenced the decision, but generally speaking this is a charm offensive. >> how should we look at this in terms of the big picture, u.s./north korea relations? is this the beginning of the right road, or should we not

read that much into it? >> well, you know, we would all love to read a significant breakthrough in american/north korea relations. and, you know, at some point there will be that breakthrough. you know, i don't know if this is or not. of course, we should test it out, because it just very well may be that you do have a consensus in pyongyang to try to change relationships. now, that's unlikely but nonetheless whenever you do see a real significant change in regime behavior, you have to ask yourself, what is changing. so we should try to test it out. >> what can you tell us about kim jong-un that is different than his father? >> he was certainly only 28, 29 when he became north korea's supreme leader. he only had about a couple of years of on-the-job training and this is a very difficult regime to run because it's held -- it basically constituent parts. you had the security services, the korean workers party and the

army and the kim family circle and all groups have to be balanced. it's a very difficult task to run this government. and kim jong-il the father had more than two decades of on-the-training kim jong-un had just two years and that's made it very difficult for him to navigate in a very difficult circumstance. it's, like, a snake pit and kim jong-un has essentially been the hamster for the last couple of years. >> director of national intelligence james clapper who traveled there, secured this amazing release, brought a handwritten letter from president obama for kim jong-un. what significant do you think it would have to him? >> i think that he'd want to see the u.s. as a supplicate so there would be some overture on our part to try to free the two. we also did that i think in connection with jeffrey fowl where we actually did talk to them beforehand in a series of negotiations, conducted behind the scenes.

but at the end of the day, we've got some very fundamental differences with north korea which aren't going to be resolved by the release of two individuals. i think something very significant's gone on in pyongyang. you have a new regime element in control i think and so we should test it out and president obama's letter was the way to do that. >> thank you very much, sir, for joining us this evening with your expertise. appreciate it. >> thank you. but there are no ? 24/7 it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. e financial noise financial noise financial noise

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midterm elections are historically bad for sitting presidents, but president obama has racked up a dubious record in the two midterms since taking o. a couple of maps tell the story pretty well. here's what the house looked in when the president took office in 2008. here's what it will look like in january. the red republican districts, seats picked up by republicans have increased nearly 70%. in fact, president obama has seen his party lose more house seats in midterm elections than any president since harry truman. here's a look how the republicans' big night unfolded. >> we have a major projection to announce right now. the first republican pick-up of the night. >> west virginia is one of the first tonight. and western virginia has done it right. >> the republican leader in the united states senate will be re-elected. >> i've heard your concerns.

you will be heard in washington. >> tom cotton will be the united states senator from the state of arkansas. >> how about that win? >> mike round the republican will be the next united states senator from south dakota. and corey gardner will be the next united states senator from the state of colorado. >> tonight we shook up the senate. >> david purdue the republican will be elected to the united states senate from the state of georgia. >> i'm telling you, i have chill bumps. >> pat roberts from the state of kansas. >> no. we weren't dragged across the finish line. we took the hill. >> north carolina will go to the republicans. >> i think senator reid's going to have a different office . joannie ernst, the republican, the state of iowa.

>> we are going to make a squeal. >> this is the republican way. there is no other way to look at it. >> that is how it all happened on tuesday night. the president says he got the message from american voters on tuesday. what they really want, he says, is for washington to get things done. >> as i said the other night, obviously republicans had a good night and i've congratulated both mitch mcconnell as well as speaker boehner for running a very strong campaign. as i also said the day after the election, what we have seen now for a number of cycles is that the american people just want to see work done here in washington. >> so is it all about working together, or did voters set out to repudiate the president's political agenda. let's bring back in democrat congressman adam schiff. thanks for joining us again. let me get to this. there was an interesting strategy. a lot of people running didn't have the president come stump on

their behalf. know, we saw kay hagan last hour, the radio ad from president obama, but didn't see a lot of him involved in the mid terms. looking back, was that a mistake? >> it may have been a mistake in some of the states where the president's presence could have helped turn out certain democratic voters in part of the democratic base. but it's hard to say. this was clearly a wave election, and those kind of strategic decisions to deploy the president or not to deploy the president, i'm not sure they would have -- [ inaudible ] what did you think? did it make you think, wow, america is speaking.

interestingly, the president mentioned specifically the two-thirds of americans who didn't vote. >> well, what it said to me, americans are really tired of the disfunction. they do really want to get something done. and they blame the party in power. and that's traditionally what happens. if the american people aren't happy with the direction of the country or they're unhappy with what's going on or not going on in congress, they tend to blame the party in power in the white house. so i think we should on both sides of the aisle take that message to heart. republicans, i think, will make a mistake if they think this was an endorsement of their policy positions, which americans by and large don't really believe in. but it's reaction to the dysfunction and paralysis. americans said they want something different and the difference they want is the parties working together. and i would love to see the history of these next two years written that it was the most productive years of the obama administration, and there are good reasons for both parties to try to make that happen. >> let me ask you this.

republican party chairman says the president will be, quote, throwing a barrel of care owe seen on to already inflamed relations with republicans if we see him go it alone on immigration. we even saw david axelrod tweet out the president should try to let it go through congress, see if it can be brought up in the house. do you think the president should go it alone on immigration? >> well, i think, ideally the congress would act and should act. the question is, is the house and the senate really prepared to do that when -- >> but not saying should the president go it alone. do you think it's a bad idea? >> i think the president should go it alone if the congress won't go there with him. and the speaker was asked directly this week, will you bring a immigration bill to the floor and he give indicated, hesitated, and wouldn't commit to doing so. so unless he can get that commitment, i think the president has to act on his own. also i would say the republicans for their part are planning to throw a lot of kerosene on the

fire too in the sense they're going to be sending the president bills to repeal obamacare, to repeal dodd/frank and do a lot of things they know are doa as well. so it would be worthwhile i think for both sides to sit down and say what can we do cooperatively, rather than taking a course of confrontation again. >> yeah. all right. we'll be watching for all of the american people, i think i speak for all of us, saying we hope all of you guys in washington can work together and get these things done. that is what everyone is counting on. congressman, thanks for joining us this evening. >> absolutely. two americans headed home. one of them kenneth bae, free from detention in north korea. a family friend will join us, straight ahead. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much.

just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.

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. >> we were on this normal morning patrol, walking down the road. i had never been hit by an ied before. it felt like i had been hit by a wrecking ball. i sat up. my legs were completely gone. what happens if you don't quite get killed and you don't quite survive? you're somewhere in the middle. i was a shell of a man. who i was was gone. >> let's take it right before the melody comes in. ♪ >> our organization helps wounded warriors play music and recover their lives. ♪ >> we match the injured troops with professional musicians who come visit at walter reed medical center, and work with them on music projects, learning music, writing, and performing. ♪ >> we're going to try to incorporate a little more metal. >> i'm not a music therapist.

i'm a musician. but by injecting music into this space, we can inject life. >> something survived that horrible injury in afghanistan. and that was my ability to play the guitar. arthur and his program changed my outlook on what is possible. ♪ music has no stigma. folks who work with, when they do music, there is nothing injured about the way they do it. it's just good music. ♪ good evening, everyone. you're in the "cnn newsroom." thank you for being with me. i'm poppy harlow joining you live from new york. we are following several developing stories. first an update on coalition air strikes that targeted a suspected group of isis leaders in iraq. the leader is